Scarlet Rose
by guccinarry
Summary: Scarlet and James (Niall Horan) have been hunting fangwolves together for seven years and Scarlet has always been full or hatred for them; however, after meeting Edward (Harry Styles), will Scarlet finally realise that not everything is as black and white as it seems?
1. The One That Got Away

_Cast list:_

_Niall Horan as James Robertson_

_Harry Styles as Edward_

_Blythe Danner as James' mum_

_Colton Haynes as Zachariah_

_Jared Padalecki as Xavier_

_Model as Scarlet Rose Ashburn_

* * *

"You're mad, aren't you?"

"Quite."

"Look, he told me he was different, so I let him g-"

"Fuck, James, you almost got me killed! This 'oh so different' fangwolf got half a dozen of his fully-turned friends to find me; I had to take them out by myself, God damn it!"

"Sorry."

"You little shit."

"Sorry."

"Bye, James."

"Bye, Scarlet Rose."

James and I have been hunting together for ages. Frankly, I have no idea why - it would be far more logical for me to hunt on my own seen as he still, after _seven years, _can't grasp the concept that all fangwolves must die. Idiot. None-the-less, he's a nice guy (maybe a little too nice), and this job would be lonely as shit without him. Still, his nonjudgmental attitude toward the only things in his life that have ever caused him great suffering will always remain a mystery to me.

"Scarlet, dinner!"

Food. Hell yeah.

* * *

My mum spends far too much time cooking and reading Jane Austen novels, but at least she socialises with me enough to know that my favourite food is spaghetti which is exactly what she's made for me tonight, bless her. As I approach the little round table I notice her nose scrunch up and her eyes getting narrower as if the sun's in her eyes. Am I really that radiant? Ha-ha, but seriously, she only ever does that when she's pissed off. Jesus, what have I done know?

I drag out my chair and drop into it rather more violently than intended. "...what?" I hiss.

"Scarlet Rose Ashburn, you know how I feel about, well, those!" mum snapped, making a vague gesture towards me with her fork.

"My tattoos?"

"Yes. Go put a cardigan on. Oh, and take out your piercings, they're not ladylike!" Bloody hell, not this again! Every time she catches a glimpse of my ink she has a fit. Some people need to calm the fuck down.

"I bet if Elizabeth Bennet had them you'd think differently." I exclaim, pushing my spaghetti across my plate.

"Just get them out of face, Scarlet." she commanded while pointing her sharp, skeleton-esque finger to the coat pegs across which my old cable knit jumper is draped. Oh God, no. I stand up with such force that my chair slammed into the floor. Unlike last time, violence was intended. After a walk of shame that seemed to last three million centuries, I pull the itchy piece of shit over my head and return to my mother, lifting my chair and replacing it at the table. Once I'd taken a seat, my mother went on to ask me where I'd been today. "Out." I snapped. Well, it wasn't a lie, I have been out so she can't complain. My mum knows that my only friend is James so she managed guess that I'd been with him. You can't argue with me when I say she's intellectually superior (note sarcasm). Her face lights up, "With James! Oh brilliant, I love that boy..."

Here she goes again.

"Despite his hideous tattoos and body stud things, he's lovely. James has always been beside you when everyone else has unsurprisingly given up; how sweet it that? Ah, I'm telling you Scarlet, you will never meet a boy more happy, positive and accepting - he's a great influence on you; he balances you out. Scarlet, you need to marry him-"

Jesus Christ, she gets so excited at the name 'James Robertson'. In all seriousness, I think he means more to her than he does to me. Maybe _she _should just marry him, God!

I roll my eyes and slam my cutlery onto the smooth mahogany, scratching off the varnish - oops. "I'm done." I announce. Headed toward the door, I turn my back on the table and , under her breath, I hear my mother whisper that she'd never have adopted me if she'd have known I'd be this moody. Oh wow. Don't sugar coat it, mum.

* * *

Pulling off my disgusting cream knitwear, I storm out of the house and make my way up to James' place, the pub/bed and breakfast along the road. Mrs. Robertson always knows how to make me feel better. On my arrival, James grabs my shoulders and exclaims "Scarlet! Have you seen the news?" Recovering from the shock, I inform him that I haven't, as a matter of fact, seen the news. I'm still mad at James so I shake off his hands and walk over to his mum. "Mrs. Robertson!" I cry like and excited puppy. So not me. "Scarlet," she laughed, "today hasn't been a great day for you then, huh?" she added, subtly nodding towards the TV screen. The screen depicts six massive wolves strewn across the floor - all with bloody wounds to their chests - and the headline read 'SIX WOLVES FOUND MASSACRED TODAY IN THE WOODS'. Holy shit, I killed them! Why the fuck did I forget to hide the bodies? This is a schoolboy error! At least I didn't leave any evidence that it was me.

"Come now, honey, I know you've had a tough day. James told me all about it. If it'll make you feel any better, I've got a surprise for you."

Dragging my eyes away from the horrifying images on the TV, I grin at Mrs. Robertson. Her surprises are always good. After a few seconds of rummaging and muttering from behind the bar, she finally emerges with a sparkling knew dagger. Smooth zinc blade, gold-plated handle with the hunters' motto 'silence the moon' engraved on it, leather holster; it's just perfect! My eyes widen in awe as stare at it. "I can't thank you enough, Lilith, it's beautiful!" Mrs. Robertson is slightly taken back by the fact that I just called acknowledged her by her real name. Strange - James does it all the time. She gets over it and wraps her arms around me, telling me that I deserve the gift. James, who had gone upstairs after I pushed him away, emerged with a little smile on his face. From the look in his eyes, I can tell this was his idea. We've been best friends for thirteen years and I can read him like a book.

I give up, who cares if he almost got me killed and made me so mad that I forgot hide the fangwolves' bodies? I just can't stay mad at James Robertson - he's too nice and cuddly - damn it. I run up to him and fling my arms around his neck. Laughing, he asks; "are you still mad?"

"Shut up and hug me, you idiot!" I replied.

* * *

My mother wasn't surprised when I called home to say I was spending the night at James'. We had decided that in the morning we were going to examine the bodies of the wolves to try and identify the pack and eventually find (and kill) the one that got away. Obviously, mum can't know that. Mum doesn't even know I'm a hunter. I just tell her that James and I are studying together - what she doesn't know won't kill her.


	2. The Search

_**Sorry, this took a couple of days for me to do because I've been quite busy but here is is! Please leave reviews so I can improve :) - Lucy (guccinarry) **_

* * *

It's always peaceful in the woods (apart from when we're hunting, of course, that shit gets crazy). I love just walking through the trees with the dappled shade on my back. Even though the path is entirely surrounded by trees, it's rather liberating here. James and I have been searching for evidence of the Fangwolf that wasn't killed. If it tells the police, they'll probably have us listed as psychopaths. Worse, if it tells the rest of its pack, we're not ready to defend ourselves.

"Look, let's just give up on tracking down the individual wolf and find it's pack instead. Come on, we'll head over to where you left the bodies - there must be some fur or something there." insisted James. He never hesitates to remind me that I forgot to burn or hide the bodies. That dick.

"Whatever." I say in my usual blunt and to-the-point style. As we continue on our trek through the dense foliage and crisp fallen leaves I find it the perfect opportunity to reminisce on the events of yesterday. Hunting is a tough job because, more often than not, there are Fangwolves all over the place. For this reason, me and James decided to split up (stupid idea, don't try it at home). I can imagine it now; the wolf pinned to the floor with James' knife to his chest, crying and pleading to him, 'oh, please, let me go! I'm different, I swear!' and then James feels sorry for it and lets it go. Damn it James, you're so naive.

Eventually, we arrive at the clearing in which I killed the wolves. Luckily, the bodies are still here; we'll have to be quick because the police will be here soon. "Alright, this is going to be a long search." declared James, scanning the area with his eyes. Closely we examined the bodies, taking fur samples and looking at the fangs. After what seemed like one billion years, we finally concluded that the pack were North American mountain wolves. We know that because we found traces of limestone in the fur which is found in The Rockies. They probably came here in search of new people to add to their pack.

Back at Mrs. Robertson's house we start to discuss where they could be now. Lilith looked at the fur sample closely. "Yep, definitely North American. Definitely mountain wolves; well observed, you guys!" she chimed proudly. Lilith is always so proud of us when we do well seen as she taught everything she knows about hunting - she feels like our success is her responsibility. After cracking open a beer, James sits down in a bar stool and taps his fingers; "where do you think they are now?" he inquires. His mum looked at him as if she was shocked he even asked, "oh, well, clearly they've gone back to America. Otherwise, they'd have been back for you by now. Forget about them." What is she talking about? Is she actually suggesting we let the wolf go? No, never! I hate giving up and so does she!

"Come on, you guys, are you actually suggesting we let this wolf go?" I ask, failing miserably at hiding my confusion. James and Lilith exchange a 'is she serious' look. Great, really discreet. James hops off his stool energetically before responding.

"Well, yeah, Scarlet. It's in North America now. It can't do much harm to us, can it?" James stated. What a selfish point of view.

"It can do some harm to someone, though!" I cry indignantly.

"There will be hunters there who can take care of it."

"Ugh, fine, whatever. Give up, I don't care. Do what you want; I hope this eats away at you, slowly, every day until you die." I say with a straight face. Maybe I don't mean that, but I want them to now exactly how I feel about this.

* * *

It's 8:00pm the same evening and I'm packing my bags. Who cares if they don't want to come with me? I can survive perfectly fine on my own. I mean, I won't be gone long. My mum will have nervous breakdown when she finds out I'm further than 3 miles from the house, but oh well. Money, check; dagger, check; water bottle, check; blanket, check; phone, check. Everything seems to be here. Cautiously, I push my bag under my bed and set my alarm for 3:00am, a time at which my mum will most certainly be deeply sleeping. Actually, I'm rather excited to be going on this trek alone as I've never been to America before! Furthermore, I will feel less worried in a way without James being with me because there's no chance he'll get hurt, you know? God, I can't wait.

Jolting up instantly after the first sharp sound, my hand shoots towards the alarm and strikes it with such force that it flies off the table and on to the floor. That'll shut it up. I take a minute to get my bearings and manage to stand up on my tired, wobbly legs. Unexpectedly, the adrenaline of what I'm about to do hits and I'm instantly revived. At top speed I pull on my clothes, jacket and boots before dragging my bag out from the dark depths of my bed. This is the hard part - sneaking past my mum. Creeping slowly past her bedroom door, I pray that there won't be a super creaky floorboard or hidden obstacle in my path. Once I'm out of earshot I pick up the pace considerably and try to open the door so fast that the key slips through my hands, hitting the wooden floor with a loud crack - _oh shit! _If that has woken her up I swear to God I will burn something. I leave at least 30 seconds before picking up the keys and opening the door more calmly. The chilling night breeze hits my skin, clawing at my hair and nipping at my fingers. My boots skid on the concrete in front of my doorstep, causing me to take a few steps forward in order to regain my balance. Gradually, my eyes adjust to the darkness and I find myself stood in the middle of my street surrounded by houses.

Oh my God, is this real? I never expected to get this far! Honestly, I didn't even think I'd have the energy to get out of bed. Well, seen as I'm further into this than I ever thought I would be, I haven't really thought it through. It seems logical to head to the bus stop, so that's what I'll do. As I'm walking through the dark, lonely streets I pass various houses and hotels. I actually wish I'm snuggled up in one of those beds, but I don't regret anything - I'm not giving up now. Wow, it's more creepy than I ever imagined walking through this town that I know so well at night; I actually feel kind of unsafe. When I was planning this I was so excited that I overlooked the risks. What if I get raped? What if I get kidnapped? What if my mum calls the police and they come searching for me? What if I get lost in a place I've never been before? Oh God, what have I done? I'm such an idiot! I'm enraptured in my own thoughts when I pass the long, winding alley - it doesn't even phase me. Looking my feet, I pass a street light and that's when I notice a tall, stocky silhouette. Jesus, this is it. I'm going to die. The end is here. Goodbye people. I'm about to get brutally stabbed.

"If you want to find the wolf that got away, then you're looking in the complete wrong place, sweetheart."


	3. Edward

Slowly, I turn around to face the entrance of the alley. As the dark figure emerges into the soft glow of the streetlight, I freeze like a statue. I don't want to die! The question is, how did he know I was a hunter?

As he comes closer I notice his vivid, surreal green eyes; his lethal, menacing fangs; his huge, tense muscles. Holy shit, he's a Fangwolf - a semi-turned Fangwolf. When I think about it, it was obvious. I mean, who else would've know about my quest? Oh, I've got him now...

My eyes become slits in my skin and I clench my fists - bring it on you hybrid freak. At that moment, a sly smirk creeps across the Fangwolf's face and he opens his hand in a sharp, staccato movement sending his razor sharp claws flying out of the end of his fingertips. Before I know it, his hand is flying right at me; I duck swiftly and kick the little shit in the leg. The strike sends him off balance just long enough for me to get my dagger out of my bag. Holy crap, his fist is coming right for my arm. Tightly he grips my wrist and squeezes it, so much so that I feel as though I'm going to drop my only weapon - oh hell no, bitch. Wrenching my wrist out of his hands, I manage to slice my flesh open on his claws. Fuck, that hurts. Oh my God, it's bleeding like a bitch too, I feel dizzy already. Distracted by my wound, I don't realise that the wolf is flying towards me at full speed. It pins me to the wall and grips my shoulders, puncturing my skin with it's claws. Kick, Scarlet, kick for dear life! This is no use. The fangwolf starts to laugh, thinking it's won. Um, no? You can't defeat me that easily. With as much strength as I can, I lift my dagger and stab it really hard right into the wolf's shoulder. Immediately, it releases its hold on me and growls in pain. Zinc blade - zinc is like 100 billion degrees centigrade and poisonous to Fangwolves. If it hits them in the heart, they will die. Unfortunately, I only got this one in the shoulder, but it still burns like hell. The wolf is really pissed now, and I'm to busy laughing at it to fend it off this time. In his anger, the wolf has gained strength. His massive fist hits me around the head at full force, right on the side of my face.

Oh God, I'm going. My vision starts to blur and everything is just merging into darkness. Dizziness takes over me and my knees just give in. Without warning, I find my self falling to the ground. Nothing can save me now - I'm gone.

* * *

Crap, where am I? My head hurts like hell and I can't feel my arms. Come to think of it, I can't move my arm - I can't move either of them. Nor my legs, they're stuck. There's only one explanation; I'm dead. Great. James and I would've been 20 next year. Oh, there's so much I've never told him. Even though I feel stupid saying this - I really miss him.

Ew, enough with the soppy talk. Get a grip, Scarlet. Why is it so dark in here? I thought you were supposed to be able to 'see the light' or something when you die. To my relief (in a way), I hear a soft, deep growl from about five yards away. What is that? Who's there? My heart skips a beat when the cold hits me and I suddenly realise the icy dampness beneath my legs. Once again I attempt to move my limbs and I feel them rub against something coarse and itchy. It feels like it is wrapped around my arms and legs. In my confusion, I drop my head back and sigh but it hits against something cold and blunt, like a triangular shaped rock jutting up from the ground. Ugh, it is wet on top. What is this? The growl grows louder and, as my eyes adjust to the darkness, I notice a massive, furry blob across from me, the top of it rising with every growl. As I look around, I notice sharp rocks hanging from the ceiling, dripping with some sort of liquid; every one of them hangs directly above another mound that seems to grow up from the floor.

Woah, it's all coming back to me - sneaking out of my house last night; seeing the Fangwolf's shadow; having a massive fight with it. Oh yeah, the worthless piece of crap knocked me out. It's so obvious now - he has dragged my unconscious body back to a cave a tied me to a stalagmite. The furry thing over there - that's it, that's the wolf. I've got to get out of here. Rubbing my legs together vigorously, I try to dislodge what I have concluded to be a rope tied around my legs. After a few minutes, it come's loose, thank God. When I'm looking around the cave I notice my bag about a meter or two away from me; it has my dagger in it.

Desperately, I stretch out my leg. Just a little bit further, please! My foot gets hooked around the strap of my bag and I pull it closer. To my surprise, it makes a _really _loud scraping noise across the stone. Damn it, be quite you stupid bag! You're going to wake him up. I just manage to pull my bag up to my chest but then the whole cave seems to get a lot darker, weird. Shit - he's awake, isn't he? Slowly, I look up - hoping for the best but expecting the worst - and see the Fangwolf, in human form, looming over me. He stares at me with his clear, green eyes; his puffy, brown hair hanging messily across his face. Scrawled across his massive bicep, I notice an abundance of tattoos. Wow, I'm jealous. "What do you think you're doing?" he snaps, grasping my bag and flinging it across the cave, meaning it caused a loud echo when it landed.

"Actually, I was trying to get away from you so I could go get my bad ass friend to come help me kill you slowly in your sleep." I declared with a sweet little smile.

"Hmm. Well, that hardly seems fair."

"Oh, and why not?"

"I was never planning on killing you."

"Excuse me?"

"Scarlet, I need your help."

What the hell? How the actual fuck does he know my name?

"Umm.." I mutter, trying to hide the confused look on my face. "How do you know my name?" I queried.

"Irrelevant." he replied bluntly. "Look, sweetie - if you help me find my pack, I'll help you get revenge on the wolves that killed your parents. Deal?"

'Sweetie'. Oh God, a Fangwolf just called me 'sweetie'. It sends shivers down my spine. Oh, and _oh my God, _how the fucking fuck does he know about my parents' death? Who does he think he is? Butting into my personal life like an ignorant little dick. They're all the same - bloodthirsty, deceitful, ignorant and thoughtless. I would never assist scum like him.

"Listen here, you soulless little shitbag, if you really think you can use my parents' tragic mauling to exploit me and use me until you decide you don't need me anymore and kill me, you're sadly mistaken. You seem to know a lot about me; I thought it would be pretty obvious that there is nothing I hate more than your kind and that I would rather die than help you in any way, shape or form." I hiss. I'm such a bitch.

The wolf looks taken aback. Then, he licks his lips and leans right in to my ear. He's so close that I can feel his breath tickle against my skin. Almost whispering, he says, "I know who they are. I know what they did. I was very close to them and they betrayed me. I hate your parents' killers just as much as you do. Darling, if I really wanted to exploit a hunter that would be gullible and easy to kill, I wouldn't have chosen you now, would I?" To be fair, he has a point. I am neither gullible, nor easy to kill, so why would he have asked for my help if his intentions were to destroy me? Wait, how does he know my parents' murderers? Oh, I'm so confused right now.

"I think you're lying." I whisper.

The wolf leans in even closer and whispers even more softly; "Honey, look into my eyes and say that again."

Finally he draws back and stares right at me, his eyes pierce my heart. As I stare, wide eyed, back at him I notice a gloss over his irises as if he's about to cry and his pupils are so wide they are like black holes in his face. They're like a window to his soul and in them I see my reflection; I actually look kind of like I feel sorry for him. My heart sinks with guilt, somewhat, and the longer I stare at his completely straight face the stronger the feeling that he is telling the truth becomes. Sooner or later, I'm going to regret this, but right now I just can't resist; "all right, I'll help you. Don't think I like you though, and don't think I won't kill you."

"Thank you," he murmurs with a sigh of relief. He leans right in to me and semi turns; I can feel his chest rise and fall against me. He's so warm, like a blanket, unlike me - I'm freezing. For the second time, his eyes turn a brighter, more vivid green because he is half-turned. This time, they're closer and I can see flecks of various shades - yellow, dark green, brown, lime. They're captivating.

Suddenly, my palms start to burn red and I feel a peculiar tingling sensation rushing towards my hands which have now dropped free. That would be the blood returning. The Fangwolf has used his claws to snap the rope around my arms. Pulling my hands into me, I notice the deep ridges across my wrists where the rope has been, but I also see the gash that I got last night has a bandage across it. When I run my fingers over the fabric I feel the wiry thread underneath it. The wound has been stitched up.

"That was me. Thank me later." his voice shocks me and I jump. "Before you stand up, you should have these," he added, leaning over and moving my bag, revealing an energy drink and chocolate bar behind it. "You lost a lot of blood last night and you need to get your sugar levels up. I bought these for you."

"Thanks." I say, trying to keep my balance after being struck by dizziness when I stood up and catch the stuff he just threw at me at the same time.

"I'm Edward, by the way."

"Bye, Edward."

"Hey, if you tell anyone about this I will kill both you and them, got it?"

He looks deadly serious, "got it."


	4. Coming Home

_**Hey you guys! Sorry this chapter was super late because I've had a really busy week. It's really short as well, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Much love! ~ Lucy (guccinarry) x**_

* * *

Getting home was easier than expected. I was quite deep in the woods and I didn't know where I was at first. I didn't venture far from the cave but I lost the entrance too it almost immediately. I couldn't find it again in the unfamiliar part of the forest. Eventually, I found the main path and getting out of the woods was easy at that point. Having emerged from the woods about an hour and half after I was released from the cave, I found the bus stop and went straight home.

Now, I'm stood at the front door of my house, with my bag, preparing myself for the worst. With a deep breath, I lift my quivering hand to the door, pull the handle and step bravely into the house. I feel sick to the stomach. What is my mum going to say?

To my surprise, my mum isn't angry. Actually, she's a soggy, shivering mess with a mascara-covered face half concealed by Mrs. Robertson's shoulder. Lilith spots me cowering behind the door frame and her face lights up. Dropping my mother's quaking hand, she waits for a pause between my mother's shrill wails and shouts my name with unprecedented relief. "Lilith..." I manage to say before she abandons my mum completely and throws herself at me, trapping my body within her welcoming arms. James' mum lets go of me after realising I can't breath and my mum, who (until now) has been too consumed in tears to notice I've returned, gives out a weird, high pitched cry and runs at me with a smile on her face. Embracing her tightly, I say hello to her but she doesn't repsond in words. All I can hear is muffled crying.

Mum emerges from my shoulder and grabs my face with gusto, "Scarlet, my baby, where in God's name have you been? I called Lilith but she said you weren't there and she didn't know where you'd gone!" shrieks my mother, who looks like she's about to drop to the floor; her legs are trembling like crazy. Come on, scarlet, think - quickly! I can feel my cheeks burning up and the whole world suddenly gets 300% hotter. Heart racing, brain panicking, I just blurt out the first plausible excuse that comes into my head; "Ummm... I was, errr... kinda offended - I guess - when you said that thing about never adopting me so, yeah, I just sort of like spent the night in a hotel. Yeah, sorry." I mutter. Nice save, Scarlet. Real smooth. My mum just stares at me with a gormless look, wide eyed and open-mouthed, as if she is struggling to process what I just said. I think she's a bit overwhelmed, being the overprotective mother she is. Despite the fact that she is quite strict, she thinks the world of me and I love her. Lilith is very calm and never gets mad, so she balances my mother out. I can tell she knows I am lying from the way she stares at me and the way she subtly shakes her head - the disappointment in her eyes kills me. "Why did you go alone when you knew it was dangerous?" she enquires, clearly referring to me going after the Fangwolf.

"Don't worry, I didn't go as far as you might have expected." I reply, trying to reassure her. Mrs Robertson just doesn't respond. The entire room goes quiet apart from my mother's hushed sniffling. "There, there, Joanne," whispers Lilith in a comforting voice, "she's back now." Once again, the noise dies down and we're all just stood here. I'm so done - I can't cope with this awkward silence anymore. "Where's James?" I say, shattering the tension. Lilith informs me that he's in the lounge. I'm so excited to see him even though I only saw him like, two days ago, or something.

As I approach the door of the dim room, all I can hear is heavy breathing and the ticking of a clock. I enter to see James sat on the sofa, head in hands. My heart does this weird sort of flutter thing when I see him again (finally). "James..." I murmur softly, with a small smile appearing on my face. James' head shoots up instantly and his wide, sapphire eyes meet with mine. I've always loved his eyes. His mouth drops open at first glance, and then he jumps up energetically, holding his open arms aloft. He still looks stunned to see me and he literally grabs my top and drags me into him aggressively, squeezing and shaking me in his strong embrace. "Nice to see you too..." I state sarcastically with a laugh. James' response is nothing more than a loud sigh of relief. After what seems like three billion years, I finally get to hear James' thick, Irish accent again when he says, "what the actual fuck, dude?" He sounds like he's tired out, but he's just breathing really heavily.

"I was going to go after it." I say, arms around James' waist and head on his chest listening to his racing heart.

"Did you kill it?" he asks.

"No but he-" I stop myself - telling him what happened would put his life in jeopardy. For the second time today, I have to think fast; "I mean _but I _decided not to go last minute. It was already late at that point so I went to a hotel. I didn't want to disturb my mum." I manage to spit out. At least I delivered this more convincingly than earlier. To my disappointment, somewhat, James lets go of me and puts his soft hands on my shoulders. "_Never _do this to me again, you bitch." he remarks, bluntly.

"Sorry, James Robertson."

"You should be, Scarlet Rose Ashburn."

* * *

An hour or two later, James and I are sat upstairs in my room. He keeps giving me skeptical looks. "What?!" I finally ask.

"Which bus stop did you go to?" He enquired. Strange boy.

"The one down the road from college..."

"What time was this?"

"Late."

"Why did you decide not to?"

Jesus fucking Christ, why is he asking me so many questions? Does he not believe me? Am I really that bad at lying? What if he saw right through it? Oh my God, stop panicking - he'll pick up on it! James can read people. "Stop interrogating me!" I snap unintentionally. I didn't mean to shout at him, I was just in a moment of panic! Wow, good one Scarlet. He's really going to be entirely convinced now.

James lunges back slightly when I raise my voice, looking totally taken aback. Still, he doesn't shout back or say anything, he just sits there; very calm, as usual - although he's definitely puzzled. Without a word, James stands up to leave and I'm overcome with guilt. As he draws closer to the door, something slips out of my mouth - "Sorry." Looking more confused than he did before, he asks "For what?"

"For everything," I reply.


	5. Author's Note

**_Hey guys! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in ages - I haven't had the time. Hopefully, chapter 5 will be up in the next week. If not, then don't worry; I will definitely get round to it. ~ Guccinarry (Lucy)_**


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